style of presentation the audience is expecting

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8 Types of Presentations You Should Know [+Examples & Tips]

By Krystle Wong , Aug 11, 2023

From persuasive pitches that influence opinions to instructional demonstrations that teach skills, the different types of presentations serve a unique purpose, tailored to specific objectives and audiences.

Presentations that are tailored to its objectives and audiences are more engaging and memorable. They capture attention, maintain interest and leave a lasting impression. 

Don’t worry if you’re no designer —  Whether you need data-driven visuals, persuasive graphics or engaging design elements, Venngage can empower you to craft presentations that stand out and effectively convey your message.

Venngage’s intuitive drag-and-drop interface, extensive presentation template library and customizable design options make it a valuable tool for creating slides that align with your specific goals and target audience. 

Click to jump ahead:

8 Different types of presentations every presenter must know

How do i choose the right type of presentation for my topic or audience, types of presentation faq, 5 steps to create a presentation with venngage .

When it comes to presentations, versatility is the name of the game. Having a variety of presentation styles up your sleeve can make a world of difference in keeping your audience engaged. Here are 8 essential presentation types that every presenter should be well-acquainted with:

1. Informative presentation

Ever sat through a presentation that left you feeling enlightened? That’s the power of an informative presentation. 

This presentation style is all about sharing knowledge and shedding light on a particular topic. Whether you’re diving into the depths of quantum physics or explaining the intricacies of the latest social media trends, informative presentations aim to increase the audience’s understanding.

When delivering an informative presentation, simplify complex topics with clear visuals and relatable examples. Organize your content logically, starting with the basics and gradually delving deeper and always remember to keep jargon to a minimum and encourage questions for clarity.

Academic presentations and research presentations are great examples of informative presentations. An effective academic presentation involves having clear structure, credible evidence, engaging delivery and supporting visuals. Provide context to emphasize the topic’s significance, practice to perfect timing, and be ready to address anticipated questions. 

2. Persuasive presentation

If you’ve ever been swayed by a passionate speaker armed with compelling arguments, you’ve experienced a persuasive presentation . 

This type of presentation is like a verbal tug-of-war, aiming to convince the audience to see things from a specific perspective. Expect to encounter solid evidence, logical reasoning and a dash of emotional appeal.

With persuasive presentations, it’s important to know your audience inside out and tailor your message to their interests and concerns. Craft a compelling narrative with a strong opening, a solid argument and a memorable closing. Additionally, use visuals strategically to enhance your points.

Examples of persuasive presentations include presentations for environmental conservations, policy change, social issues and more. Here are some engaging presentation templates you can use to get started with: 

3. Demonstration or how-to presentation

A Demonstration or How-To Presentation is a type of presentation where the speaker showcases a process, technique, or procedure step by step, providing the audience with clear instructions on how to replicate the demonstrated action. 

A demonstrative presentation is particularly useful when teaching practical skills or showing how something is done in a hands-on manner.

These presentations are commonly used in various settings, including educational workshops, training sessions, cooking classes, DIY tutorials, technology demonstrations and more. Designing creative slides for your how-to presentations can heighten engagement and foster better information retention. 

Speakers can also consider breaking down the process into manageable steps, using visual aids, props and sometimes even live demonstrations to illustrate each step. The key is to provide clear and concise instructions, engage the audience with interactive elements and address any questions that may arise during the presentation.

4. Training or instructional presentation

Training presentations are geared towards imparting practical skills, procedures or concepts — think of this as the more focused cousin of the demonstration presentation. 

Whether you’re teaching a group of new employees the ins and outs of a software or enlightening budding chefs on the art of soufflé-making, training presentations are all about turning novices into experts.

To maximize the impact of your training or instructional presentation, break down complex concepts into digestible segments. Consider using real-life examples to illustrate each point and create a connection. 

You can also create an interactive presentation by incorporating elements like quizzes or group activities to reinforce understanding.

5. Sales presentation

Sales presentations are one of the many types of business presentations and the bread and butter of businesses looking to woo potential clients or customers. With a sprinkle of charm and a dash of persuasion, these presentations showcase products, services or ideas with one end goal in mind: sealing the deal.

A successful sales presentation often has key characteristics such as a clear value proposition, strong storytelling, confidence and a compelling call to action. Hence, when presenting to your clients or stakeholders, focus on benefits rather than just features. 

Anticipate and address potential objections before they arise and use storytelling to showcase how your offering solves a specific problem for your audience. Utilizing visual aids is also a great way to make your points stand out and stay memorable.

A sales presentation can be used to promote service offerings, product launches or even consultancy proposals that outline the expertise and industry experience of a business. Here are some template examples you can use for your next sales presentation:

6. Pitch presentation

Pitch presentations are your ticket to garnering the interest and support of potential investors, partners or stakeholders. Think of your pitch deck as your chance to paint a vivid picture of your business idea or proposal and secure the resources you need to bring it to life. 

Business presentations aside, individuals can also create a portfolio presentation to showcase their skills, experience and achievements to potential clients, employers or investors. 

Craft a concise and compelling narrative. Clearly define the problem your idea solves and how it stands out in the market. Anticipate questions and practice your answers. Project confidence and passion for your idea.

7. Motivational or inspirational presentation

Feeling the need for a morale boost? That’s where motivational presentations step in. These talks are designed to uplift and inspire, often featuring personal anecdotes, heartwarming stories and a generous serving of encouragement.

Form a connection with your audience by sharing personal stories that resonate with your message. Use a storytelling style with relatable anecdotes and powerful metaphors to create an emotional connection. Keep the energy high and wrap up your inspirational presentations with a clear call to action.

Inspirational talks and leadership presentations aside, a motivational or inspirational presentation can also be a simple presentation aimed at boosting confidence, a motivational speech focused on embracing change and more.

8. Status or progress report presentation

Projects and businesses are like living organisms, constantly evolving and changing. Status or progress report presentations keep everyone in the loop by providing updates on achievements, challenges and future plans. It’s like a GPS for your team, ensuring everyone stays on track.

Be transparent about achievements, challenges and future plans. Utilize infographics, charts and diagrams to present your data visually and simplify information. By visually representing data, it becomes easier to identify trends, make predictions and strategize based on evidence.

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of presentation methods and how to use them, you’re on the right track to creating a good presentation that can boost your confidence and enhance your presentation skills . 

Selecting the most suitable presentation style is akin to choosing the right outfit for an occasion – it greatly influences how your message is perceived. Here’s a more detailed guide to help you make that crucial decision:

1. Define your objectives

Begin by clarifying your presentation’s goals. Are you aiming to educate, persuade, motivate, train or perhaps sell a concept? Your objectives will guide you to the most suitable presentation type. 

For instance, if you’re aiming to inform, an informative presentation would be a natural fit. On the other hand, a persuasive presentation suits the goal of swaying opinions.

2. Know your audience

Regardless if you’re giving an in-person or a virtual presentation — delve into the characteristics of your audience. Consider factors like their expertise level, familiarity with the topic, interests and expectations. 

If your audience consists of professionals in your field, a more technical presentation might be suitable. However, if your audience is diverse and includes newcomers, an approachable and engaging style might work better.

3. Analyze your content

Reflect on the content you intend to present. Is it data-heavy, rich in personal stories or focused on practical skills? Different presentation styles serve different content types. 

For data-driven content, an informative or instructional presentation might work best. For emotional stories, a motivational presentation could be a compelling choice.

4. Consider time constraints

Evaluate the time you have at your disposal. If your presentation needs to be concise due to time limitations, opt for a presentation style that allows you to convey your key points effectively within the available timeframe. A pitch presentation, for example, often requires delivering impactful information within a short span.

5. Leverage visuals

Visual aids are powerful tools in presentations. Consider whether your content would benefit from visual representation. If your PowerPoint presentations involve step-by-step instructions or demonstrations, a how-to presentation with clear visuals would be advantageous. Conversely, if your content is more conceptual, a motivational presentation could rely more on spoken words.

6. Align with the setting

Take the presentation environment into account. Are you presenting in a formal business setting, a casual workshop or a conference? Your setting can influence the level of formality and interactivity in your presentation. For instance, a demonstration presentation might be ideal for a hands-on workshop, while a persuasive presentation is great for conferences.

7. Gauge audience interaction

Determine the level of audience engagement you want. Interactive presentations work well for training sessions, workshops and small group settings, while informative or persuasive presentations might be more one-sided.

8. Flexibility

Stay open to adjusting your presentation style on the fly. Sometimes, unexpected factors might require a change of presentation style. Be prepared to adjust on the spot if audience engagement or reactions indicate that a different approach would be more effective.

Remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach, and the best type of presentation may vary depending on the specific situation and your unique communication goals. By carefully considering these factors, you can choose the most effective presentation type to successfully engage and communicate with your audience.

To save time, use a presentation software or check out these presentation design and presentation background guides to create a presentation that stands out.    

What are some effective ways to begin and end a presentation?

Capture your audience’s attention from the start of your presentation by using a surprising statistic, a compelling story or a thought-provoking question related to your topic. 

To conclude your presentation , summarize your main points, reinforce your key message and leave a lasting impression with a powerful call to action or a memorable quote that resonates with your presentation’s theme.

How can I make my presentation more engaging and interactive?

To create an engaging and interactive presentation for your audience, incorporate visual elements such as images, graphs and videos to illustrate your points visually. Share relatable anecdotes or real-life examples to create a connection with your audience. 

You can also integrate interactive elements like live polls, open-ended questions or small group discussions to encourage participation and keep your audience actively engaged throughout your presentation.

Which types of presentations require special markings

Some presentation types require special markings such as how sales presentations require persuasive techniques like emphasizing benefits, addressing objections and using compelling visuals to showcase products or services. 

Demonstrations and how-to presentations on the other hand require clear markings for each step, ensuring the audience can follow along seamlessly. 

That aside, pitch presentations require highlighting unique selling points, market potential and the competitive edge of your idea, making it stand out to potential investors or partners.

Need some inspiration on how to make a presentation that will captivate an audience? Here are 120+ presentation ideas to help you get started. 

Creating a stunning and impactful presentation with Venngage is a breeze. Whether you’re crafting a business pitch, a training presentation or any other type of presentation, follow these five steps to create a professional presentation that stands out:

• Sign up and log in to Venngage to access the editor.
• Choose a presentation template that matches your topic or style.
• Customize content, colors, fonts, and background to personalize your presentation.
• Add images, icons, and charts to enhancevisual style and clarity.
• Save, export, and share your presentation as PDF or PNG files, or use Venngage’s Presentation Mode for online showcasing.

In the realm of presentations, understanding the different types of presentation formats is like having a versatile set of tools that empower you to craft compelling narratives for every occasion.

Remember, the key to a successful presentation lies not only in the content you deliver but also in the way you connect with your audience. Whether you’re informing, persuading or entertaining, tailoring your approach to the specific type of presentation you’re delivering can make all the difference.

Presentations are a powerful tool, and with practice and dedication (and a little help from Venngage), you’ll find yourself becoming a presentation pro in no time. Now, let’s get started and customize your next presentation!

The 8 Types of Presentation Styles: Which Category Do You Fall Into?

Updated: December 16, 2020

Published: September 24, 2018

Types of Presentations

• Visual Style
• Freeform Style
• Instructor Style
• Coach Style
• Storytelling Style
• Connector Style
• Lessig Style
• Takahashi Style

Everyone on the internet has an opinion on how to give the “perfect” presentation.

One group champions visual aids, another thinks visual aids are a threat to society as we know it. One expert preaches the benefits of speaking loudly, while another believes the softer you speak the more your audience pays attention. And don’t even try to find coordinating opinions on whether you should start your presentation with a story, quote, statistic, or question.

But what if there wasn’t just one “right” way to give a presentation? What if there were several? Below, I’ve outlined eight types of presentation styles. They’re used by famous speakers like Steve Jobs and Al Gore -- and none of them are wrong.

Check out each one and decide which will be most effective for you.

Types of Presentation Styles

1. visual style.

What it is: If you’re a firm believer slides simply exist to complement your talking points, this style is for you. With this speaking style, you might need to work a little harder to get your audience engaged, but the dividends can be huge for strong public speakers, visionaries, and storytellers.

When to use it: This style is helpful when speaking to a large audience with broad interests. It’s also great for when you need to throw together slides quickly.

Visual style presenter: Steve Jobs

2. Freeform Style

What it is: This impromptu style of presenting doesn’t require slides. Instead, the speaker relies on strong stories to illustrate each point. This style works best for those who have a short presentation time and are extremely familiar with their talking points.

When to use it: Elevator pitches, networking events, and impromptu meetings are all scenarios in which to use a freeform style of speaking. You’ll appear less rehearsed and more conversational than if you were to pause in the middle of a happy hour to pull up your presentation on a tablet.

Freeform style presenter: Sir Ken Robinson

3. Instructor Style

What it is: This presentation style allows you to deliver complex messages using figures of speech, metaphors, and lots of content -- just like your teachers and professors of old. Your decks should be built in logical order to aid your presentation, and you should use high-impact visuals to support your ideas and keep the audience engaged.

When to use it: If you’re not a comfortable presenter or are unfamiliar with your subject matter (i.e., your product was recently updated and you’re not familiar with the finer points), try instructor-style presenting.

Instructor style presenter: Al Gore

4. Coach Style

What it is: Energetic and charismatic speakers gravitate towards this style of presenting. It allows them to connect and engage with their audience using role play and listener interaction.

When to use it: Use this presentation style when you’re speaking at a conference or presenting to an audience who needs to be put at ease. For example, this style would work well if you were speaking to a group of executives who need to be sold on the idea of what your company does rather than the details of how you do it.

Coach style presenter: Linda Edgecombe

5. Storytelling Style

What it is: In this style, the speaker relies on anecdotes and examples to connect with their audience. Stories bring your learning points to life, and the TED’s Commandments never let you down: Let your emotions out and tell your story in an honest way.

When to use it: Avoid this style if you’re in the discovery phase of the sales process. You want to keep the conversation about your prospect instead of circling every point or question back to you or a similar client. This style is great for conference speaking, networking events, and sales presentations where you have adequate time to tell your stories without taking minutes away from questions.

Storytelling style presenter: Jill Bolte Taylor

6. Connector Style

What it is: In this style, presenters connect with their audience by showing how they’re similar to their listeners. Connectors usually enjoy freeform Q&A and use gestures when they speak. They also highly encourage audience reaction and feedback to what they’re saying.

When to use it: Use this style of presenting early in the sales process as you’re learning about your prospect’s pain points, challenges, and goals. This type of speaking sets your listener at ease, elicits feedback on how you’re doing in real time, and is more of a dialogue than a one-sided presentation

Connector style presenter: Connie Dieken

7. Lessig Style

What it is: The Lessig Style was created by Lawrence Lessig , a professor of law and leadership at Harvard Law School. This presentation style requires the presenter to pass through each slide within 15 seconds. When text is used in a slide, it’s typically synchronized with the presenter’s spoken words.

When to use it: This method of presentation is great for large crowds -- and it allows the speaker to use a balance of text and image to convey their message. The rapid pace and rhythm of the slide progression keeps audiences focused, engaged, and less likely to snooze.

Lessig style presenter: Lawrence Lessig

8. Takahashi Style

What it is: This method features large, bold text on minimal slides. It was devised by Masayoshi Takahashi , who found himself creating slides without access to a presentation design tool or PowerPoint. The main word is the focal point of the slide, and phrases, used sparingly, are short and concise.

When to use it: If you find yourself in Takahashi’s shoes -- without presentation design software -- this method is for you. This style works well for short presentations that pack a memorable punch.

Takahashi style presenter: Masayoshi Takahashi

Slides from one of Takahashi’s presentations:

Whether you’re speaking on a conference stage or giving a sales presentation , you can find a method that works best for you and your audience. With the right style, you’ll capture attention, engage listeners, and effectively share your message. You can even ask an  AI presentation maker  tool to create presentations for you in your preferred style

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Presentation styles: Explore different ways of presenting

Get your team on prezi – watch this on demand video.

Anete Ezera June 01, 2023

In the realm of public speaking and professional communication, mastering different presentation styles is essential for engaging and captivating your audience. Whether you’re delivering a business pitch, an educational lecture, or a sales presentation, the way you present your content can make a significant impact on conveying your message effectively. This article aims to explore various presentation styles and highlight the versatility of Prezi presentations that can elevate your delivery to new heights. From the classic approach to storytelling and demonstrations, we’ll delve into how Prezi can support and enhance each presentation style.

Why is it important to choose the right presentation style?

Selecting the appropriate types of presentation styles is crucial for effectively delivering your message and engaging your audience. The choice of style can significantly impact the overall effectiveness and success of your presentation. Here are some reasons why it’s important to choose the right style for your presentation.

Audience engagement

Different presentation styles have varying levels of audience engagement. By selecting a style that aligns with your audience’s preferences and expectations, you can enhance their level of engagement and create a more impactful presentation. For example, an interactive style may be ideal for engaging a tech-savvy audience, while a visual style can captivate visually-oriented individuals.

Message clarity 

Each presentation style has its strengths in conveying specific types of information. For instance, a storytelling style is effective for presenting narratives and evoking emotions, while a demonstration style is suitable for showcasing the practical application of a product or process. Choosing the right style ensures that your message is communicated clearly and resonates with your audience.

Retention and memorability

A well-suited presentation style enhances the audience’s ability to remember and retain information. By utilizing visuals, interactive elements, or a freeform approach, you can create a memorable experience that helps your audience internalize and recall key points long after the presentation is over. The right style can make your content more memorable, increasing its impact and effectiveness.

Personal connection

The presentation style you choose can also influence the level of personal connection you establish with your audience. Some styles, such as a freeform or conversational approach, foster a sense of rapport and authenticity. By selecting a style that aligns with your personality and communication style, you can establish a stronger connection with your audience and create a more engaging and relatable experience.

Brand representation

Your presentation style should also align with your brand identity and values. Consistency in style and tone across your presentations helps build brand recognition and reinforces your messaging. Choosing a style that is consistent with your brand image ensures a cohesive and professional representation of your organization or personal brand.

Audience needs and preferences

Understanding your audience’s needs, preferences, and expectations is paramount when choosing a presentation style. By considering factors such as their industry, demographics, and familiarity with presentation formats, you can tailor your style to cater to their specific requirements. This customization enhances their overall experience and increases the likelihood of achieving your presentation goals.

To explore the different presentation styles in a video format, watch our comprehensive video on this topic:

Classic presentation style

The classic style of presentation serves as the foundation for many public speeches and business presentations. It follows a structured and logical approach, with a clear introduction, main points, and conclusion. This style often utilizes bullet points, accompanied by concise explanations. By employing the classic style of presentation, speakers can effectively communicate their ideas, engage their audience, and leave a lasting impact.

Integrating Prezi into the classic style of presentation introduces an interactive dimension, enabling you to craft visually appealing slides that captivate and sustain audience interest. Through Prezi’s dynamic capabilities, such as zooming and panning, you can accentuate essential details and maintain an engaged audience from start to finish. For a classic presentation style, check out the following Prezi presentation templates.

Storytelling presentation style

Storytelling is a powerful technique that can breathe life into your presentations. It goes beyond simply relaying facts and figures. It taps into the power of narrative, engaging the audience’s imagination, emotions, and personal experiences. Through storytelling, you can create a shared experience with your listeners, allowing them to relate to your message on a deeper level. By presenting information in the form of a story, you can captivate attention, maintain interest, and ensure better retention of key points. 

Storytelling also provides a framework for organizing complex information, as it follows a natural progression of beginning, middle, and end. It allows you to introduce characters, conflicts, and resolutions, which help in clarifying concepts and illustrating the practical applications of your ideas. This style invites active participation from the audience, as they become invested in the narrative and eagerly anticipate the outcome. Overall, storytelling is a potent tool that enriches presentations by fostering emotional connections, enhancing understanding, and leaving a lasting impact on your audience.

Prezi offers a range of templates and design options that enable you to create visually stunning storytelling presentations. You can incorporate images, videos, and other multimedia elements to enhance the storytelling experience. With Prezi’s seamless transitions and cinematic effects, you can take your audience on a captivating journey, effectively conveying your message in a memorable way.

Demonstration presentation style

Demonstration presentations are particularly useful when showcasing a product, process, or concept. This style involves actively illustrating how something works or how to perform a task. Furthermore, the demonstration presentation styles cater to different learning styles, accommodating visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners. Through a combination of visual aids, live examples, and interactive elements, this style ensures a memorable and impactful experience that resonates with the audience long after the presentation is over.

Prezi’s interactive features allow you to embed videos, animations, or step-by-step visual guides to provide a clear demonstration. You can create a path through the presentation that guides the audience through each step, ensuring a smooth and engaging experience. Prezi’s flexible canvas provides ample space to showcase details and highlight important features, making your demonstration impactful and informative.

Interactive presentation style

The interactive presentation styles break away from the traditional one-way flow of information and encourage active participation from the audience. It involves incorporating interactive elements, such as quizzes, polls, and collective exercises, to engage the audience and promote a two-way communication process. By embracing interactive presentation styles, speakers can transform their presentations into dynamic and engaging experiences that foster collaboration, encourage audience involvement, and create a shared learning environment.

With Prezi’s interactive capabilities, presenters can spark discussions, successfully hold people’s attention, and create a collaborative environment that keeps the audience involved and invested in the presentation. For an interactive presentation, discover the Prezi presentation example below.

Visual presentation style

A visual presentation style relies heavily on visually appealing elements to convey information. It emphasizes the use of graphics, images, charts, and infographics to enhance understanding and capture the audience’s attention. 

This style leverages the principle of visual hierarchy, organizing information in a visually logical manner to guide the audience’s attention and comprehension. Visual presentations not only make information more digestible but also enhance retention and recall. The combination of relevant visuals and concise text creates a harmonious blend that aids in understanding and increases the overall impact of the presentation.

Prezi provides a wide array of visually stunning templates, design elements, and multimedia integration options to create visually impactful presentations. Presenters can leverage Prezi’s drag-and-drop editor to easily incorporate eye-catching visuals, ensuring that complex concepts are simplified and memorable. By combining Prezi’s visual capabilities with storytelling techniques, presenters can create visually engaging presentations that resonate with their audience.

Freeform presentation style

The freeform style of presentation offers presenters the flexibility to adapt their content on the go, responding to audience reactions and tailoring the presentation in real-time. It allows for spontaneity, improvisation, and a more conversational tone. 

While it requires confidence, knowledge, and the ability to think on one’s feet, the freeform style allows for a more fluid and natural presentation that can resonate deeply with the audience. It’s a format that encourages active participation, facilitates meaningful discussions, and provides an opportunity for presenters to truly connect and build rapport with their listeners.

Prezi’s open canvas and non-linear structure provide the perfect platform for freeform presentations. Presenters can navigate freely between topics, zoom in on important details, and adjust the flow based on audience engagement. Prezi’s zooming and panning capabilities enable presenters to have a dynamic and fluid presentation, allowing for seamless transitions and a personalized delivery that connects with the audience.

Prezi for different presentation styles

Mastering various presentation styles is crucial for effectively conveying your message and captivating your audience. Prezi serves as an invaluable tool that enhances each presentation style, allowing you to create engaging, visually stunning, and interactive presentations. Whether you choose the interactive, visual, or freeform style, Prezi’s features and versatility enable you to craft memorable presentations that leave a lasting impact. Embrace the power of Prezi as you embark on your journey to deliver exceptional presentations that captivate, inform, and inspire your audience. Elevate your communication skills to new heights of excellence and unlock the true potential of your ideas with Prezi’s transformative capabilities.

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6 Most Effective Presentation Styles

Hrideep barot.

• Presentation , Public Speaking

Have you ever been an audience member who was not wholly involved in a speech or a speaker who discovered their audience dozing off? Both scenarios have the potential to be disheartening and fruitless.

What can you then do to improve the effectiveness of your presentation?

There are various styles in which you can present your content. Out of a plethora of choices, some of the most effective ones include – the Visual, Storytelling, freeform and instructor style of presentation. Each of them has their own set of methods and guidelines, however, they are known to be extremely beneficial and are used by speakers all over the world.

What is a Presentation Style? 

Let us first take a brief look at what a presentation style is before moving on to the most effective techniques that you can use.

A Presentation style is a way of giving a presentation orally. In other words, a particular presenting type is an approach you adopt or employ to deliver your content. There are numerous presenting styles or methods you can use when giving public speeches or presentations such as –

• Visual Presentation Style
• Coach Presentation Style
• Instructor Presentation Style
• Lessig Presentation Style

Out of hundreds of methods and ways, there are a few that are more effective and yield better much better results when used appropriately. They include –

1. Visual Style 

The visual presentation style uses visual components to support the verbal subject. In other words, this approach uses charts, photos, graphs, and other visual aids in addition to speaking to assist the audience in visualizing and comprehending the material.

Advantages of Using a Visual Presentation Style 

The relevance and effectiveness of visual and verbal communication are well known, making the visual style of presentation one of the finest to adopt. This is also a remarkably effective strategy as it aids the audience in more easily understanding complicated or in-depth talking points. When used in conjunction, visual and verbal communication aid in better understanding and retention.

How Can You Use a Visual Presentation Style? 

If you plan to use this style in your upcoming presentation, then these are some steps you can follow-

1] Be thorough with your content  – it is essential to know your content well to prepare visuals related to it. 

2] Pick up only the key points and add them on slides  – key pointers can be one sentence that conveys the primary information you want to share. 

3] Use graphs or charts to convey numbers or statistics  – Simply saying numbers can confuse consumers. Therefore, charts and graphs make it easier to comprehend when you speak about them.

4] Include relevant pictures or videos in each slide or alternative ones  – Using images and videos can be beneficial because they give your audience something to look at while you speak, which helps them understand and retain what you are saying.

Things To Avoid When Using a Visual Presentation Style

Now that you know how to use a visual style, it is equally imperative to be mindful of a few common mistakes so that you do not make them. 

1] Slides only complement your speech  – do not put-up paragraphs and read from them. It will only bore the audience and disengage them from it. Instead, only add critical words or phrases on which you can verbally elaborate. 

2] Don’t use a fancy unreadable font  – a visually presenting slide does help but using a fancy font will only make it not understandable. Thus, it is crucial to stick to standard readable fonts and sizes.

3] Don’t rush through  – just because you have a slide that allows people to read and understand some of the content does not mean you can speed up. Allocate sufficient time to each topic so that the audience has time to grasp and understand. 

Example of a Speech That Uses a Visual Presentation Style 

Wondering what a visual presentation style looks like? Check out this video where Steve Jobs introduces Mac Air to the world. This is an apt video showcasing what a visual presentation should be like!  

2. Storytelling Style

The storytelling style of presentation is a method where the speaker uses anecdotes and examples to connect with the audience. This technique is among the greatest and most effective because it enables the audience to relate to another lay person’s experiences, thereby allowing them to understand the practicality and reality of the topic. 

Advantages Of Using a Storytelling Style

Using a storytelling style allows you to –

1] Share real-life experiences on the topic , letting people know its practicality. For instance, if your topic is “optimism and positivity in life,” you can offer examples of how being positive has benefited you in various circumstances and examples of how things have gone when you haven’t been hopeful.

2] It allows the audience to provide their input , which helps you understand if the audience is grasping the message you want to convey. This is a subtle yet constructive way of engaging the audience and gaining feedback.

3] It also permits for an informal and naturally flowing talk . Most of the speeches are very structured and formal. Even though this has a construct, you can adapt it to the conversations and knowledge of the audience.

How To Use the Storytelling Presentation Style? 

Using the storytelling method also requires backend work. If you wish to adopt this style for your upcoming presentation, here are steps that you can follow – 

1] Develop the structure of your speech  – first, it is helpful to write down the topic and each subtopic you will cover. 

2] Include relevant stories, anecdotes, and experiences  – once you have the overall flow of your speech, then you can fill the relevant gaps with your own stories and experiences. 

3] Keep some time for an audience input  – allocate 1-2 minutes wherein you take the backend and allow the members from the audience to comment or share their experiences that are relevant to the topic. 

Things to avoid when using the storytelling method 

Every method has specific pointers to be careful of, and storytelling is no exception. Here make sure to – 

1] Not make it like a formal delivery  – Try not to overly formalize and grandiloquent it since this will take away from the storytelling element.

2] Only share the positives  – Sharing real experiences is one benefit of the storytelling technique. Thus, use this approach to communicate the topic’s applicability by outlining its advantages and disadvantages.

Here is a video of Andrea Gibbs, who talks about “The Power of Storytelling” by sharing anecdotes and experiences from her personal life. 

The storytelling format is much popular among motivational speakers who use personal experiences to motivate people for the better.

3. Connector Style 

The connector style of presenting, as its name suggests, includes the speaker establishing a connection with the audience. This indicates that the speaker actively engages the audience by asking frequent follow-up questions and seeking meaningful feedback. Speakers widely use this strategy to strengthen connections with audiences by demonstrating how they all are similar.

Advantages Of Using a Connector Style of Presentation 

The connector style of presentation, much like the storyteller, has a lot of benefits. Among the many, the most important ones include – 

1] It allows you to establish a deeper connection with the audience , which helps you understand them and if they can comprehend the message you want to convey. 

2] The audience is able to participate actively . Usually, the audience only listens passively, but this format allows them to respond and express their opinions, keeping them actively engaged the entire time. 

3] You can receive immediate feedback . In most other presentation methods, this perk is not present. It’s beneficial to get insightful feedback because it enables you to comprehend your audience’s viewpoint and adapt your information for contextual understanding. Furthermore, it enlightens you as to which areas require more effort. 

Guidelines While Using the Connector Presentation Style 

1] Start with a personal story or connecting activity that grabs the audience – this method helps keep the audience engaged from the very start. 

2] Practice nonverbal gestures – keeping eye contact with the audience, smile, and use your hand gestures to convey your presence and complete attention to the audience. 

3] Cater to the audience throughout – this form of presentation means that you and the audience are entirely involved. Thus, keeping a check on them is of utmost importance. Keep checking if they are interested and if not, include relevant activities to gain their attention back. 

Things to Avoid When Using the Connector Style 

When using the connector style, do not take up most of the time telling self-stories or doing self-talking. It is vital to keep your content brief but meaningful while allowing the audience to give their inputs and viewpoints on it. 

1] Don’t read from scripts or recite the information . Keep the content naturally flowing like a back-and-forth conversation that can be moulded as per the answers and feedback of the audience.

2] Don’t use visuals to complement your talks. The connector style relies primarily on you and your stories, so don’t use graphics to convey any messages unless they are some pictures to show on a relevant topic. 

Many speakers use the connector style because it helps them connect deeply with the audience, when used correctly, it does allow the speaker to develop meaningful relations with the audience and convey relevant and helpful messages.

4. Instructor Style 

Many presenters adopt the instructor style of presenting when educating their audience on a challenging or complicated subject. To simplify a complex issue so that the audience may more readily grasp, this method entails the use of well-known phrases, figurative language, metaphors, and pictures.

Advantages of the Instructor Style of Presentation 

The instructor presentation style is more formal, like a teacher or professor delivering a lecture. But this format, for reasons of its own, is beneficial because –

1] It allows you to logically explain the subject with the help of relevant visuals, examples, and supplements. For example, if you take up the topic of “Investing in your 20’s”, you can start by explaining what an investment is, the types of investments available, pros and cons of each etc. while supporting it with relevant videos, stats, and graphics.

2] When used correctly, the method can be highly persuasive as it builds decks in a logical order and uses impactful visuals as evidence to support the ideas. Continuing the same example, if you logically go on explaining and supporting, most of the audience will have been convinced to make some sort of investments.

3] Lastly, this method allows you to educate and aware the audience appropriately . You can use your knowledge and skills on the subject matter to convey the message effectively. If you have personally had some experiences, this method allows you to share them to help the audience become aware.

Things to Avoid When Using the Instructor Style of Presentation 

When employed improperly, this formal presentation can prevent a speech from succeeding. As a result, it’s crucial to use the procedure correctly by avoiding the following:

1] Skipping the basics on the assumption that the audience will already know – it is essential to start and cover the basics and then make your way up to the complex topics.

2] Don’t only go on speaking from one topic to the other – even though there isn’t a lot of audience participation, including small segments with quizzes and discussions to know if the audience understands the content. 

3] Don’t use jargon or complex language to communicate – the topic might be challenging to comprehend. Hence, you should avoid using difficult words or jargon that people are largely unaware of. Instead, using straightforward and basic terms will be beneficial. 

The instructor style is much used by a famous speaker  Al Gore  who advocated and educated people on climate change. This is one video where you can see the effective use of instructor presentation style. 

5. Takahashi Style 

Named after its creator, Masayoshi Takahashi, Text is the main component of a Takahashi presentation. It is a technique that employs simple visuals, mainly large block fonts. A Takahashi presentation doesn’t include charts, photos, or pictures, just a few essential big font words. 

Advantages of using a Takahashi Presentation Style 

There are several benefits that make it desirable to adopt this highly distinctive style. Some of them include –

1] The speaker can easily elaborate on a topic because the slides, which have a few essential key phrases, provide the audience with brief information beforehand.

2] The slides include simple and unambiguous phrases concerning the speaker’s topic, preventing any distraction or deviance from the subject.

3] It combines the two essential components of a presentation—clear, concise text and eye-catching visuals—making it ultimately beneficial for everyone’s use. 

Guidelines when using a Takahashi Presentation Style 

If you want an actual Takahashi presentation, there are some key pointers to keep in mind – 

1] Do not include text more than needed – make sure to add a few words or a maximum of 2 sentences. Anything beyond that will make it crowded and messy, and unappealing to the audience. 

2] Keep the slides simple – an authentic Takahashi presentation is black and white to avoid distraction. Therefore, it is best to avoid any colours and stick to this standard format. 

3] Keep the font as large as possible – once you have put the content on the slide, make sure to increase the font as much as it can fit best on the slide. The reason is that large fonts attract attention and can embed the core messages in the reader’s mind. 

If you found this method interesting and want to learn more about it, tap on this video where Luminita Florea tells you all about the Takahashi style of presentation. 

6. The Lessig Style

Much similar to the Takahashi Method, The  Lessig Presentation Style has been inspired by the work of Stanford law professor, Lawrence Lessig. This style employs the use of a single word, short quote, or photos that are in sync with the speaker’s speech. 

Advantages of using The Lessig Presentation Style

1] Each slide in a Lessig presentation concentrates on one concept or topic. This makes it simple for the audience to understand and absorb each idea separately. 

2] This presentation method functions like a movie, with each slide presenting succinct information for only 10 to 15 seconds. Because of its conciseness and pace, this style works well in keeping the audience hooked to the content. 

3] This method allows for much better retention and memory because of dual coding, i.e., via the visual and verbal mode of communication. More often than not, the word or quote put up is read aloud by the speaker, allowing the audience to hear and see it, thus etching a strong memory for the same. 

Guidelines to remember when using the Lessig Presentation Style

This minimalistic presentation has much to be careful of. Some of the important guidelines include – 

1] Not more than a word or quote – it is important to keep the slides less with only a key word or quote or picture in rare cases.  Adding more than that will take away the essence and quality of the Lessig Style.

2] Use contrast – since the slide contains just one word, quote or picture it is important to highlight and enlarge it so that it doesn’t skip the eye of the audience in any way. Although this kind of presentation allows you to use colour, using a standard black and white is recommended. 

The Lessig style of presentation is one of the most effective and captivating approaches, and many presenters use it in their speeches. Tap below to see an example of such a presentation and its effect! 

Regardless of the style you choose, there are several styles that you should absolutely avoid using because they could make your presentation go awry. Tap on this video where we tell you exactly what to styles you have to say a BIG NO to.

Presentations are an integral part of the professional life. Whether you are a professional speaker or a corporate employee, or a teacher, every role will at some point require you to present, persuade or educate an audience. It is thus helpful to know about some of the most effective styles so that you can make the most of them in your next presentation!

We hope that this article has helped you learn the most effective presentation styles, ways to adopt it and pitfalls to avoid!

Happy Presenting!

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How to Analyse your Audience for a Speech

March 2, 2021 - Sophie Thompson

This article will teach you how to perform audience analysis for your speech or presentation and the different types of audience you might encounter. The type of audience affects the choice of language, humour, opening sentences, length and many more.

Here is a great overview from the  University of Pittsburgh :

Audience analysis involves identifying the audience and adapting a speech to their interests, level of understanding, attitudes, and beliefs. Taking an audience-cantered approach is important because a speaker’s effectiveness will be improved if the presentation is created and delivered in an appropriate manner. Identifying the audience through extensive research is often difficult, so audience adaptation often relies on the healthy use of imagination.

Four types of audience

This audience does not want to be listening to you. This could be for many reasons, from not liking the organisation you are representing, to wanting to get home and watch their favourite TV show.

They can be openly hostile and disagree with you. If audience analysis shows that you’ll be faced with this audience (e.g. you have the last slot of a busy day of presentation), consider the following:

• Work hard on  developing trust  and interest
• Construct your presentation from an area of agreement or point of disagreement
• Use plenty of references and data to back up your points
• Challenge them, ask questions during your speech and engage them

Speaking to a hostile audience? Make sure you understand the type of audience you will be up against and build you speech accordingly.

2. Critical

Often at technical conferences, you get critical people who believe they are extremely intelligent and relish the thought of proving part of your presentation incorrect. Use the following techniques:

• Use lots of evidence with strong references
• Argue both sides of the case, clearly stating pros and cons of each
• Try not to exaggerate, keep to the facts

3. Uninformed

This is the most common type of audience you will encounter. They might know a little about your presentation topic but certainly not in great detail.

• Open up with questions so you can understand the level of knowledge on your topic
• Spend a few slides going over the basics of your topic
• Use  simple language  and avoid acronyms
• Give basic facts and try to relate information to something people understand (e.g. if talking about space and using huge numbers, relate them to things people can comprehend)

4. Sympathetic

This audience is willing to listen and wants to be there. They can be interested in your topic, excited to see you talk (you might be a well-known figure in your speaking field), have an emotional attachment – these people are the easiest to persuade.

• Use the state of this audience to ask for help / funding etc.
• Trigger emotions which powerful stories

People checking their watches? Make sure you understand the situation your audience is in. If your presentation is the last of the day, you’ll most likely have a hostile audience. Take this into account and structure your speech accordingly.

Different personalities in a meeting

The following section discusses the four types of  audience personalities  and an audience analysis on them.

• Scrupulous about preparation before and after meetings
• Arrives on time, keeps to time and prevents drift
• Takes very detailed minutes and listens intently
• Reflects on discussion, makes considered contributions
• Drives decision making and ensures time is not wasted
• Cuts across distractions and leads meetings well
• Manages difficult people assertively
• Ensures the action plan is implemented
• Builds rapport easily and connects people together
• Remembers coffee, cake and connects people together
• Averts conflict, when it threatens
• Supports the team and leader fully
• Entertains, engages when in the limelight
• Challenges old way of thinking
• Generates creative ideas and opens new possibilities
• Tells the truth, brings on debate, breaks through niceties

Features of each personality:

Analytical  – 100% accurate, chronology, don’t rush, focus on facts, internally focussed, distant from others, systematic, critical

Driver  – 100% task, headlines, don’t waste time, focus on action, future focused, leading others, quick to decide, impatient

Amiable  – 100% social, relationships, don’t intimidate, focus on feelings, present focused, asks questions, dislike conflict, support, kind

Expressive  – 100% impulsive, vision & ideas, don’t limit, focus on themes, externally focused, makes statements, competitive & chaotic, unpredictable, energetic

How to gauge the audiences interest

Greet people before your speech.

This is a great way to perform early audience analysis. If possible, stand near the entrance and  greet people  as they come in. Ask them questions to gauge their level of knowledge and expectations. Example questions can be “what industry are working in?” and “how long they have been working at…”

Call and Response Technique

Ask carefully  prepared questions  at the beginning of you speech to understand the mood and experience of the audience. You could ask “Raise your hand if you have used a virtual reality headset before” for example.

Research the Event

Read up about the conference you are attending. Find out what the other presentations are about and how they might relate to your speech to give you a head start on audience analysis. This gives you an idea of how technical and prepared your audience might be.

For additional information on understanding your audience and audience analysis, read:

• Know your Audience: What it Takes to Persuade, Inspire and Motivate them
• Public Speaking: Know Your Audience

Key audience analysis factors

Audience expectations.

Different audiences can have completely  different expectations  about the topics and speaker. Ignoring these differences can have a negative effect on your speech. Imagine that you’re asked to speak at the memorial service for a close friend.

The audience will expect your speech to praise the life of the deceased. If you start talking about the flaws of the person, the audience is likely to react badly to it.

Knowledge of topic

You need to find out how much your audience already knows about your topic as an audiences knowledge can vary widely. Two ways to achieve this could be:

• Research who else is speaking at the event and the topics they are presenting (if it’s been made public)
• Gauge the type of people who will attend using the event website or social media profiles

Never overestimate the audience’s knowledge of a topic. If you start speaking about complex algorithms for robotics, but the listeners are not familiar with basic genetics, they’ll quickly lose interest and find something to distract themselves with.

On the other hand, drastically underestimating the audience’s knowledge may result in a speech that sounds condescending.

Presentation setting, such as what time you are presenting and style of the conference room, will influence audience’s ability and desire to listen.

Finding out ahead of time the different environment and situational factors. This will give you plenty of time to prepare for an audience of 1000 when you were expecting 50. You want to understand whether there will be a stage, where your slides will be shown, what technology is available to you, who is presenting before you and other factors.

Take into account the way that the setting will affect audience attention and participation. If you’re scheduled to speak at the end of the day, you’ll have to make the speech more entertaining and appear more enthusiasm to keep their attention.

Read more about how to  speak to an unruly crowd  if you’re stuck with an end of day presentation slot.

Audience size

Your speech will change depending on the size of the audience. In general, the larger the audience the more formal the presentation should be. Using everyday language when speaking to a group of 5 people is often appropriate.

However, you’ll need a well throughout structure and  literary techniques  when talking to 500 people. Large audiences often require that you use a microphone and speak from an elevated platform.

Attitude toward topic

Being able to understand the audiences attitudes about a topic will help you connect with them. Imagine you’re trying to convince people at a town hall to build a new college. You’ll be inclined to spend the majority of the speech giving reasons why a college would benefit the town.

If you find that the major worry was how much this would cost students, you can talk more about funding available to the students. The  persuasive power  of the speech is therefore directed at the most important obstacle to the building the college.

Demographics

The demographic factors of an audience include:

• Ethnic background
• Job or Career

These categories often underpin the individuals experiences and beliefs, so you should tailor your speech accordingly. Presenting at a conference in London will be a very different experience to presenting in Shanghai. The structure of your speech and words you use will probably be very different.

Using demographic factors to guide speech-making does not mean changing the goal of the speech for every different audience; rather, consider what pieces of information will be most important for members of different demographic groups.

Voluntariness

Audiences are either hostile, critical, uninformed or sympathetic. Knowing the difference will assist in establishing the content of your speech. It’s very hard to generate and maintain interest with a hostile audience. You’ll definitely want to know if you’re up against this so you can plan ahead for it.

Egocentrism

Most audience members are interested in things that directly affect them or their company. An effective speaker must be able to show their audience why the topic they are speaking on should be important to them.

Presentation Planning: Know your audience

Find your who blog #2 of a 5-part series guiding you to presentation planning success..

Sep 07, 2023

This is the second blog in a 5-part series on how to plan a presentation. In my previous blog , I introduced a framework for presentation planning called Slide Zero. I called it Slide Zero because it represents the work that needs to be done before you write slide #1 of your presentation. Slide Zero encompasses the WHO, WHY, WHAT, and HOW of your presentation—the crucial starting line prerequisites that are often overlooked. If you haven't read that blog yet, I highly recommend doing so before continuing with this one, as it provides a broader understanding of the Slide Zero framework.

In this blog, we will dive into the first element of the framework: the WHO.

By focusing on the WHO, you can shift your presentation from being product-centric to audience-centric, resulting in more impactful and targeted delivery. It's essential to have a clear understanding of who you are presenting to. Your presentation must consider the audience , their context , the stage of the buying process they are in , and the presenter's style . Let's explore each of these aspects in detail.

The first aspect of the WHO is your AUDIENCE.

The number one rule of marketing is to know your audience, and the more specific you can be, the better. It's common for presentations to be delivered in front of a mixed audience, such as at a conference with attendees from various roles, or in a boardroom with representatives from different departments. In these situations, challenge yourself and your stakeholders to prioritize the roles of the people in the audience.

Recognize that the business priorities of each may be different, for example, the head of IT will differ greatly from those of the CFO. While everyone in the room is important, forcing yourself to rank the audience members from highest to lowest priority allows you to hyper-focus your message. In a boardroom presentation, for example, the budget owner is likely the primary target audience, even though there may be influencers and end users present. By prioritizing your audience, you can tailor your message more effectively.

Additionally, consider the vertical industry to which your audience belongs. Whether it's healthcare, financial services, technology, or any other industry, messaging and images are most effective when they align with the language and nuances of that specific industry. Understanding the industry context allows you to create a slide deck that resonates more deeply with your audience.

By paying attention to the composition of your audience, their priorities, and the industry they belong to, you can refine your presentation to deliver a targeted and impactful message.

The second aspect to consider of the WHO is CONTEXT.

It's important to determine where your presentation will be delivered. Will it be an executive keynote, a conference room meeting, or a technical workshop? The context in which your presentation will be delivered will have a significant impact on the content, pace, and level of detail provided.

The venue and setting of the presentation can shape the overall approach. For example, if it's an executive keynote, the content may need to be high-level, strategic, and focused on capturing the attention and inspiring the audience. On the other hand, a conference room meeting might require a more detailed and interactive presentation that addresses specific questions and concerns of the attendees.

It's worth noting that presentations created for specific contexts may not always be suitable for other settings. For instance, a keynote presentation tailored for an executive may not be appropriate for a salesperson delivering in a conference room. Keynotes often involve unique slides and are designed specifically for the purpose and style of the presenter.

Understanding the context in which your presentation will take place allows you to customize the content, delivery pace, and level of detail to best meet the needs and expectations of your audience. By building your presentation with the specific context in mind, you can enhance its effectiveness and relevance.

The next aspect to consider of the WHO is STYLE.

As a product marketer, you often create presentations that will be delivered by someone else. It's crucial to understand the presenter's style and ensure they feel comfortable with the slides you are creating.

When you are writing a presentation for someone else, it's essential to tailor it to their preferred style. Single-use decks, such as keynote presentations, are relatively easier to customize for the presenter's style, as they are typically built specifically for that purpose and presenter.

However, it can be more challenging when you are creating a sales presentation deck to be delivered by a diverse and global salesforce with varying skills and experience levels. Some presenters excel at storytelling, while others prefer to stick to the facts, and some may favor visually impactful imagery over written content. Understanding these nuances is crucial for your design team, as they need this information to produce a presentation that the presenter will feel comfortable delivering.

By adapting the presentation style to match the preferences and strengths of the presenter, you can maximize their effectiveness and ensure a cohesive and engaging delivery. Collaborating with the presenter and involving them in the presentation creation process can help ensure alignment and a comfortable presentation experience.

The final aspect to consider of the WHO is STAGE.

The B2B marketing and selling process is a complex journey that can span months or even years, and require different tactics and messaging depending on the step in that journey. Therefore, understanding the stage at which your presentation is being utilized greatly influences the content and messages in your slides.

The buying behavior of business buyers has evolved significantly in recent years, necessitating adjustments in how vendors market and sell their products and services. While every company may have its own specific definitions for buying and sales stages, they generally align with Awareness, Consideration, Decision, and Renewal (especially in the case of Software-as-a-Service companies). The purpose of the Slide Zero framework is not to define a new set of buying stages but to emphasize the importance of understanding the stage in your process when the presentation is being used. This understanding will impact the message's altitude (strategic or tactical), the tone of the presenter, and the desired outcomes you are aiming to achieve. This ensures that your presentation effectively addresses the specific needs and challenges of the audience at that particular stage, maximizing its impact and relevance.

The famous quote, "When you know your audience, your audience knows," emphasizes the importance of understanding your audience in order to effectively communicate with them. Thinking through the WHO of your presentation in terms of Audience, Context, Style, and Stage is a crucial step before you begin writing your slides. Clarity here has a significant impact on the relevance and success of your presentation, so gaining stakeholder alignment on these is a necessary step before starting slide #1.

As mentioned in my earlier blog, the team at Ghostranch has developed a set of tools for presentation planning that put the Slide Zero framework into action. One of these tools is Pitch Planner , a presentation planning tool available on their website. Pitch Planner provides product marketers with an easy-to-use workbook for planning their presentations, along with a templated executive summary slide (the Slide Zero) for the presentation review process. This tool empowers product marketers to take a strategic approach to presentation planning.

Stay tuned for my third blog in this series on how to plan a presentation, where we will delve into the WHY element of the Slide Zero framework. We will explore the importance of defining clear outcomes for your presentation and discuss the essential questions that need to be answered before writing slide #1.

About The Author

Steve Earl is a B2B marketing leader with a thirty+ year career in the technology industry, including over 20 years leading strategy and product marketing teams in developing and executing go-to-market strategies. Steve has held product marketing leadership positions at leading technology companies including Oracle, Kronos, Webtrends and Peoplesoft. His was most recently the VP of Product Marketing at Oracle, leading teams responsible for Oracle Marketing Cloud and their entire Oracle Customer Experience application business. As a product marketing leader, Steve believes in the value of storytelling to engage B2B audiences and has developed and delivered presentations for many different audiences in 14 countries. A strong proponent of frameworks, Steve leads his teams to always make the complex sound simple and to work collaboratively across marketing, product, and sales teams to ensure alignment and consistency in how a business goes to market.

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• Presentation

How to Present Effectively to Different Types of Audiences

• May 21, 2022

How you present to an audience can make or break your success. Whether you’re giving a speech, pitching an idea, or running a meeting, the way you deliver your content is key. Not all audiences are the same they can be quite different from each other. Experienced speakers use techniques to make them more interesting to listen to and to help them hold the attention of their audience. In this blog post, we’ll discuss how to tailor your presentation style to fit different types of audiences. We’ll also provide tips for delivering effective presentations to any group!

you may like: What Causes Fear Of Public Speaking?

Table of Contents

Identify the different types of audiences you might present to

The first step in customizing your presentation style is to identify the different types of audiences you might present to. Different groups will have different needs, expectations, and levels of knowledge. Some common types of audiences include:

– Prospective clients or customers

– Investors or funding sources

– Employees or team members

– The general public

– Peers or colleagues

These are the steps to identify a target audience . Let’s take a closer look.

• phase  Your  target audience: the first step  to  figuring out  your  audience  is to  section  them into  distinctive   unique   agencies .  as an example ,  if they   bought  from you  formerly ,  you could use that fact to  segment  them  primarily based  on their  buy   history .
• conduct   marketplace   studies before   you can   provide yourself with   a unique   provide , you  need  to  conduct   marketplace   research  to  perceive  what’s already  available   in your   industry .
• perform  Competitor  analysis after figuring out  your  audience analyze  what your  competitors  are doing. Who do they  target ? What are their  purchaser ’s  pain   factors ?
• study   industry   trends next , you  need  to  check   enterprise   developments .  to help you  see  where  your  competition  is focusing its efforts.  much like   market   research , it  let you   pick out  gaps that your  service or product  can fill and hone in  on the   particular   value  of your product.
• speak   for your   target market To  accumulate   greater   records ,  speak   to your   existing   target audience  on social media and your  e-mail  subscribers.  the perfect   manner  is  to ask  them to fill out a survey  to help you   analyze   greater   about  them and their  pursuits .

give  your  audience once c ence time:

For  a few  audiences, you  virtually   want  to  strengthen   through  your presentation  until  they  attain  a  point  of  know-how .  even if  your presentation is  properly   thought -out and  distinct ,  it could   simply  take the  target audience   a while   to shop for what  you are attempting  to pitch.

Understand their needs and expectations

Once you’ve identified the different types of audiences you might present to, it’s important to understand their needs and expectations. What are they looking for from your presentation? What sort of information do they need or want? How much detail do they need? Answering these questions will help you tailor your presentation style to fit each audience.

Get to know your audience

why  they may be   uninterested .  have you ever   related  the  material  to  something   they may be   involved  in? Are you  speakme   approximately   matters   which are   relevant  to them?

you’ll be   offering the incorrect   method .  sure  presentation  patterns   won’t  be  effective  for  every   audience — that is  why  it is   critical  to get to  understand  who you’re  offering  to  ahead .

Adapt your presentation style to match the audience

Now that you understand the needs and expectations of different types of audiences, you can start to adapt your presentation style to match them. There are a few key factors to consider:

– How formal or informal should your presentation be?

– What delivery style will best engage the audience?

– How can you use language and visuals to connect with

respect  your  audience:

deliberating  the  traits   noted  above,  make sure  to:

• pay attention   to your   target audience , their  critiques , and their  worries .
• give  the  target audience   some  new  statistics  that  at once   pertain to  them.
• recognize  your  target audience , their  work , and their  point of view .

Be prepared for questions and feedback:

it’s important to be prepared for questions and feedback from your audience. Different groups will have different questions, so you’ll need to be ready to answer them. You should also be open to feedback – it can help you improve your presentation style and make sure you’re meeting the needs of your audience!

define  a  clear   call  to  movement:

The  success  of a presentation  largely   relies upon  on a  robust   call  to  action  (CTA)  at the   end . you can   supply a  splendid  presentation,  but   in case you  don’t  go away with your audience  with an actionable  next  step, it  might not  have the  final results  you  need .

right here  are  some   standard   recommendations  to  observe   while  crafting your CTA.

Be clear and direct:

Encourage your audience to act quickly:, lower any barriers to action:, focus on benefits for your audience:.

you may like: Important Google Slides And PowerPoint Keyboard Shortcuts

Close with a call to action

Once you’ve presented your content, it’s important to close with a call to action. What do you want your audience to do after they’ve heard your presentation? How can they take what they’ve learned and put it into action? Be clear and concise in your call to action, and make sure it’s something that your audience can realistically do.

Talk in “spoken English” style, not in “written English” style:

Follow up after the presentation

Finally, don’t forget to follow up after your presentation! This is a great opportunity to thank your audience for their time and to answer any lingering questions. You can also use it as an opportunity to get feedback on your presentation style and content. following up shows that you value your audience’s time and opinions, and it can help you improve your presentations in the future.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your presentation is tailored to fit any audience. With a little bit of preparation, you can deliver an effective and engaging presentation to any group!

offer  as  tons   records  as  vital:

It’s important  to  cover  as  a whole lot   facts  as  you could   in your  presentation,  without  making too many assumptions  about  what your  target audience   is aware of — some   humans  will  don’t have any   prior   know-how , and others  may  have  best  a  vague  familiarity.  in case you  are  making ready   to give  to an uninformed  target audience ,  provide  as  many   records  as is  essential  to get  everyone   on the   same   web page   before diving into  additional   detail .

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3.4 Getting to Know Your Audience

Learning objective.

• Describe three ways to better understand and reach your audience.

Writing to your audience’s expectations is key to your success, but how do you get a sense of your readers? Research, time, and effort. At first glance you may think you know your audience, but if you dig a little deeper you will learn more about them and become a better speaker.

Examine Figure 3.7 “Iceberg Model” , often called the iceberg model. When you see an iceberg on the ocean, the great majority of its size and depth lie below your level of awareness. When you write a document or give a presentation, each person in your reading or listening audience is like the tip of an iceberg. You may perceive people of different ages, races, ethnicities, and genders, but those are only surface characteristics. This is your challenge. When you communicate with a diverse audience, you are engaging in intercultural communication. The more you learn about the audience, the better you will be able to navigate the waters, and your communication interactions, safely and effectively.

Figure 3.7 Iceberg Model

Theodore Roosevelt pointed out that “the most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.” Knowing your audience well before you speak is essential. Here are a few questions to help guide you in learning more about your audience:

• How big is the audience?
• What are their backgrounds, gender, age, jobs, education, and/or interests?
• Do they already know about your topic? If so, how much?
• Will other materials be presented or available? If so, what are they, what do they cover, and how do they relate to your message?
• How much time is allotted for your presentation, or how much space do you have for your written document? Will your document or presentation stand alone or do you have the option of adding visuals, audio-visual aids, or links?

Demographic Traits

Demographic traits refer to the characteristics that make someone an individual, but that he or she has in common with others. For example, if you were born female, then your view of the world may be different from that of a male, and may be similar to that of many other females. Being female means that you share this “femaleness” trait with roughly half the world’s population.

How does this demographic trait of being female apply to communication? For example, we might find that women tend to be more aware than the typical male of what it means to be capable of becoming pregnant, or to go through menopause. If you were giving a presentation on nutrition to a female audience, you would likely include more information about nutrition during pregnancy and during menopause than you would if your audience were male.

We can explore other traits by considering your audience’s age, level of education, employment or career status, and various other groups they may belong to. Imagine that you are writing a report on the health risks associated with smoking. To get your message across to an audience of twelve-year-olds, clearly you would use different language and different examples than what you would use for an audience of adults age fifty-five and older. If you were writing for a highly educated audience—say, engineering school graduates—you would use much more scholarly language and rigorous research documentation than if you were writing for first-year college students.

Tailor your message to your audience.

Todd Lappin – David Byrne’s “PowerPoint as art” lecture – CC BY-NC 2.0.

Writing for readers in the insurance industry, you would likely choose examples of how insurance claims are affected by whether or not a policyholder smokes, whereas if you were writing for readers who are athletes, you would focus on how the human body reacts to tobacco. Similarly, if you were writing for a community newsletter, you would choose local examples, whereas if your venue was a Web site for parents, you might choose examples that are more universal.

Audiences tend to be interested in messages that relate to their interests, needs, goals, and motivations. Demographic traits can give us insight into our audience and allow for an audience-centered approach to your assignment that will make you a more effective communicator (Beebe, 1997).

Improving Your Perceptions of Your Audience

The better you can understand your audience, the better you can tailor your communications to reach them. To understand them, a key step is to perceive clearly who they are, what they are interested in, what they need, and what motivates them. This ability to perceive is important with audience members from distinct groups, generations, and even cultures. William Seiler and Melissa Beall offer us six ways to improve our perceptions, and therefore improve our communication, particularly in public speaking; they are listed in Table 3.3 “Perceptual Strategies for Success” .

Table 3.3 Perceptual Strategies for Success

Fairness in Communication

Finally, consider that your audience has several expectations of you. No doubt you have sat through a speech or classroom lecture where you asked yourself, “Why should I listen?” You have probably been assigned to read a document or chapter and found yourself wondering, “What does this have to do with me?” These questions are normal and natural for audiences, but people seldom actually state these questions in so many words or say them out loud.

In a report on intercultural communication, V. Lynn Tyler offers us some insight into these audience expectations, which can be summarized as the need to be fair to your audience. One key fairness principle is reciprocity , or a relationship of mutual exchange and interdependence. Reciprocity has four main components: mutuality, nonjudgmentalism, honesty, and respect.

Mutuality means that the speaker searches for common ground and understanding with his or her audience, establishing this space and building on it throughout the speech. This involves examining viewpoints other than your own and taking steps to insure the speech integrates an inclusive, accessible format rather than an ethnocentric one.

Nonjudgmentalism involves willingness to examine diverse ideas and viewpoints. A nonjudgmental communicator is open-minded, and able to accept ideas that may be strongly opposed to his or her own beliefs and values.

Another aspect of fairness in communication is honesty : stating the truth as you perceive it. When you communicate honestly, you provide supporting and clarifying information and give credit to the sources where you obtained the information. In addition, if there is significant evidence opposing your viewpoint, you acknowledge this and avoid concealing it from your audience.

Finally, fairness involves respect for the audience and individual members—recognizing that each person has basic rights and is worthy of courtesy. Consider these expectations of fairness when designing your message and you will more thoroughly engage your audience.

Key Takeaway

To better understand your audience, learn about their demographic traits, such as age, gender, and employment status, as these help determine their interests, needs, and goals. In addition, become aware of your perceptions and theirs, and practice fairness in your communications.

• List at least three demographic traits that apply to you. How does belonging to these demographic groups influence your perceptions and priorities? Share your thoughts with your classmates.
• Think of two ways to learn more about your audience. Investigate them and share your findings with your classmates.
• Think of a new group you have joined, or a new activity you have become involved in. Did the activity or group have an influence on your perceptions? Explain the effects to your classmates.
• When you started a new job or joined a new group, to some extent you learned a new language. Please think of at least three words that outsiders would not know and share them with the class and provide examples.

Beebe, S. [Steven], & Beebe, S. [Susan]. (1997). Public speaking: An audience-centered approach (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Seiler, W., & Beall, M. (2000). Communication: Making connections (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

Tyler, V. (1978). Report of the working groups of the second SCA summer conference on intercultural communication. In N. C. Asuncio-Lande (Ed.), Ethical Perspectives and Critical Issues in Intercultural Communication (pp. 170–177). Falls Church, VA: SCA.

Business Communication for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Presentation Styles

Presentation styles and how they differ from presentation types – identify your strengths as a presenter to impress your audience.

Are We Talking about Presentation Types?

when you say Presentation Styles, are you talking about Presentation Types? Actually, no. Often, many people confuse “ presentation styles ” and “ presentation types .” Presentation Styles are the public speaking techniques that an individual uses when he or she delivers a speech. Most presenters will develop a style that works for that presenter and stick to it. A presentation type is the purpose of the talk. For instance, some presentations are designed to inform the audience about new material. Others are designed to persuade. Still others are created to entertain. You will often see presentation types labeled in a public speaking class with names like, “Presentation to Inform” or “Persuasive Speech”. So, the type is outcome or purpose of the speech. The Style is the way that the speaker delivers the material. Two different speaker will often be able to deliver the same, exact type of speech with two separate and distinctive styles.

How Do I know My Particular Presentations Style?

When I first began training to be a professional speaker, I decided to join a Toastmaster Club to get more practice. I went to this club for the better part of a year, before I quit in frustration. Since I already had quite a bit of presentation training by that point, I already had a good idea of many of my strengths and weakness as a presenter. The first time that I gave a formal speech in the club, I got good positive feedback. I felt pretty good about myself. However, as I began progressing through the prepared speeches, some of the feedback began to get a little odd. I just assumed that this was because the Grammarian changed each week, and some were better than others at coaching. I didn’t realize until much later what my real resistance was, though.

It turns out that each of these coaches were providing me feedback based on what worked for THEM when they presented. Since each of these people had a different style than mine, some of the feedback was accurate, but a lot of the feedback really fell flat. I noticed the same thing as I took more and more presentation classes. Many of the instructors in these classes were just trying to get their students to do exactly what they did. In fact, if you ask most people who go through a presentation skills class, they will say, “It didn’t really work for me.”

Oddly enough, after I had been a speaking coach for a couple of years, one of my students invited me to his Toastmaster Club. It was a totally different experience. The presenters there were just like me. They had a blunt and frank delivery mixed with humor. I felt right at home. They were using my style.

By the way, I’m not telling you to keep interviewing coaches or keep visiting different clubs until you find a style that suits you. Just the opposite actually. If you do this, you will likely stunt your growth as a presenter. In retrospect, even though I was more uncomfortable at the first club, I would have grown more there if I had stuck with it.

The Solution was Discovered by Hippocrates about 2300 Years Ago.

When I first began training instructors to teach public speaking classes, I realized that I needed a way for these less experienced coaches to identify true strengths and weaknesses of each presenter that they were coaching. Early on, I bought some of these personality temperament tests and had class members complete them. For the most part, that worked pretty well. However, from time to time, the tests would be unbelievably inaccurate. It was odd. Sometimes they work. Sometimes they didn’t. So, I spent months researching, and I eventually traced the theory back to the source. I just read what Hippocrates wrote. When I did, it was SO SIMPLE! Anyone could understand it. Anyone could use it. So, I made it a part of the Fearless Presentations ® class .

This simple understanding is one of the things that makes the Fearless Presentations ® coaches so much better than other speaking coaches.

The Answers to Two Simple Questions will Determine Your Presentation Styles

• Are your INDIRECT or DIRECT?

Indirect people tend to be more cautious. They would rather do things right the first time than redo the action. Direct people tend to be faster to take action. They want to capitalize on opportunities. They realize that they may make a mistake but see mistakes as part of the learning process. Indirect people are often described as being thorough or detailed. Direct people are often described as being energetic.

• Are you EMOTIONAL (People Oriented) or LOGICAL?

Don’t let the word Emotional confuse you. By emotional, we just mean more people oriented. They are more in tune with other people and sensitive to the wants and needs of others. Logical people tend to be more “nuts and bolts” or “black and white” kind of people. They look at data to make decisions. These presenters want facts and proof.

So, the Direct/Logical presentation will deliver just enough facts to prove his or her point, and then move on. They are concise and decisive. The Indirect/Logical is thorough and analytical. For them, a few facts are good and too many facts is just enough. The Direct/Emotional presenter wants things to be upbeat and entertaining. For them, the fewer facts, the better. The Indirect/Emotional presenter will want to please the audience with a few details. They are often the most in-tune with what the audience wants but tend to be more nervous about their performance.

The Four Main Presentation Styles

In this article, I’m just going to give a summary of the four different presentation styles. However, each summary will have a link to more details about each group can maximize strengths and minimize weaknesses. So, once you know your style, click the appropriate link to find out more details about how to become a better speaker.

The Authoritative Style (Direct/Logical)

The Energetic Style (Direct/Emotional)

The Analytical Style (Indirect/Logical)

The Empathetic Style (Indirect/Emotional)

Maximizing Your Strengths While Minimizing Weaknesses.

No single presentation style is going to be perfect for every presentation. However, some presentation styles fit better for some presentations. For instance, an Empathetic Style presenter will do much better delivering a Eulogy than an Authoritative Style. The Energetic presenter will often give a better motivational keynote than the Analytical Style presenter. With all that being said, though, just because your delivery is of a certain style, doesn’t mean that you can’t be a fantastic presenter when you deliver different TYPES of presentations.

The key to making a great impression on your audience is to maximize your natural strengths and minimize your natural weaknesses . An easy way to do this is to look at the strengths of other presentation styles and adopt some of those things to include in your own style. For instance, if you are an Analytical or Empathetic speaker, purposefully speak a little faster to add some energy into your delivery. If you are an Authoritative or Energetic Style of presenter, spend more time researching or preparing your speech. (Don’t just fly by the seat of your pants like you normally do.) If you are an Authoritative or Analytical presenter, interact with your audience a little more. Make your presentations a two-way conversation versus a one-way.

That is one of the main reasons why the Fearless Presentations ® class is so successful. Our instructors aren’t going to try to force each class member into a presenter mold based on their own strengths. The instructor, instead, will identify those natural strengths that each presenter has. Then, the instructor will help nurture those strengths. Finally, the coach will add in a few strengths from other presentation styles so that the speaker is more relatable. This process works 100% of the time.

To look for a Fearless Presentations ® class in your area , click here.

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7 ways to keep audience attention during your presentation

by Olivia Mitchell | 24 comments

Reference: Hartley J and Davies I “Note taking: A critical review” Programmed Learning and Educational technology, 1978,15, 207-224 cited by John Medina in Brain Rules

Keeping audience attention is more important and more difficult than grabbing audience attention . A reader emailed me:

“What can I do to keep the audience’s attention through the whole of my presentation. There are always people who don’t seem to be listening.”

A one-way presentation is one of the worst possible ways of transferring information from person to person. It requires discipline and effort to simply sit and listen passively to someone speak for any length of time.  Make it easier for your audience by following these seven guidelines:

[Warning: The first three guidelines require that you know your audience – do the work to find out what your audience is interested in, their background knowledge, level of experience etc.]

1. Talk about something your audience is interested in

You may think this is obvious and that you’d never make this mistake. But I see many otherwise intelligent people talk about what they’re interested in rather than what the audience is interested in.

Last week, a business banking specialist started designing a presentation he was planning to deliver to accountancy firms in his city. Most of his talk was about the internal organisational changes they had made in their team which would allow the team to service their clients better. But do his audience care about the internal organisational changes? No. His talk should have been focused on the services they offered to clients.

If you’re speaking at a conference, people come to your session because of the synopsis – that’s what they’re interested in. Don’t change it just because it suits you. Many years ago, I saw one of New Zealand’s most successful professional speakers make this mistake. Her session was advertised as being on email marketing. But, she’d just got entranced by Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for websites. She announced at the start that she didn’t want to talk about email marketing, but about SEO. The she asked how many people in the audience had a website. About 5 people out of 100 put their hands up. You’d think she’d change tack – but no. 95 people were subjected to a talk on a subject they had no interest in.

2. Tell them why they should listen

Before each of the presentations skills courses we run, we ask each participant to fill in an online questionnaire. The most critical question is this:

“How important are presentation skills to you?”

They answer by clicking on range of multichoice answers from “It’s vitally important” to “It’s not that important”. If a number of participants click on “It’s not that important” then we know we have to start the course by demonstrating the benefits of developing presentation skills. I start by telling my story of how developing presentation skills has enriched my career. Then Tony tells of speaking at his father’s funeral and the feeling of completion that that gave him. Now they’ve got a reason to listen.

So if your audience don’t have an obvious reason to be interested, tell them why they should bother listening to you. This can be challenging. I’ve had email discussions with a number of readers who present on topics such as health and safety issues or environmental regulations. The audience have to be there, but they have no intrinsic interest in the topic. The solution is to tell them why they should care. If you’re speaking on health and safety, tell them stories of people injured in your workplace and the consequences it had for them. I still remember being an audience member in a presentation on Occupational Overuse Syndrome. The speaker had suffered from it herself and described how she’d been unable to brush her own hair.

And if you can’t find a reason why they should listen – don’t give the presentation!

3. Don’t make it too easy or too hard

You’ve probably heard of the concept of “flow” developed by Csikszentmihalyi . Flow is a state of being where you are fully engaged and fulfilled in what you’re doing. You lose track of time, your mind never wanders. When you describe a speaker as “compelling” that’s probably because you were in a state of flow. The ultimate goal is to have your audience in a state of flow (h/t to Chris Atherton and her post When giving presentations, the only rule that matters is the rule is attention. )

There are many factors to achieve that nirvana, but one of the prerequisites for flow to occur is for the task to be not too easy and not too hard. When listening to a presentation, the main task is thinking. The thinking task you set has to have just the right level of challenge for the particular audience you’re speaking to. The level of challenge required will differ for different audiences – their confidence in the topic and their background knowledge being critical factors.

Listening to somebody talk through a series of bullet points does not require challenging thinking. So it gets boring very quickly.

Conversely, if the speaker puts up a complicated flow chart and dives right into the detail without explaining what it’s about, the thinking task will be too challenging. Daniel Willingham, in his book “Why students don’t like school” describes doing just this (as an experiment):

After about 15 seconds I stopped and said to the audience, “Anyone who is still listening to me, please raise your hand.” One person did.

So audit every minute of your presentation in terms of what is the thinking task that you’re asking your audience to engage in. Is it too easy or too hard?

4. “Change grabs attention”

The heading comes from Daniel Willingham’s book that I’ve quoted above (yes, it’s what I’m reading at the moment).

We notice change. You notice the hum of the air-conditioner when it comes on and when it goes off – but not in between. You can use this natural human propensity to retrieve your audience’s attention.

There are macro changes and there are micro changes:

Macro-changes

• Change the visual medium eg: from slides to flipchart and back again
• Change the physical state of the audience eg: from sitting around a table to standing around a flipchart
• Change the location of the room that you present from eg: from the front to the back
• Change the activity your audience is engaged in eg: from listening to you to discussing a problem with their neighbour
• Change presenters
• Change topics.

Micro-changes

• Make the edges between subtopics in your presentation clear eg: “So that’s the problem we’re trying to fix, let’s look now at what some of the options are.” If somebody has mentally checked out this gives them a cue to check back in again.
• Show a short video
• Use silence before and after critical statements
• Change your style of delivery according to the content. For instance when you’re making statements of fact, use a measured deliberate tone and stand still. When you tell a story, speed up, get chatty and move around.

As a guide, I use a macro-change at least every 10 minutes, and micro-changes continuously.

5. Tell stories

Every presentation expert extolls the power of stories. There’s evidence that people are hard-wired to listen to stories (see my post Are our brains wired to enjoy stories ). When you say “ I’ll tell you a story about…” your audience will perk up. Your stories should of course reinforce the point you’re making. Take a look at your presentation from the point of view of stories. Are they sprinkled throughout your presentation – or bunched together? Sprinkle them out for best effect.

For more strategic insights into when and where to tell stories see When to tell a story and what story to tell .

You can also exploit the power of story to keep attention by structuring your whole presentation using a story structure – I’ll write more on this later (meanwhile if you know of any good links to this concept please do post them in the comments).

6. Have frequent breaks

Build in frequent breaks, but if you see people starting to flag in their attention suggest a “microbreak” for 1-2 minutes where people people can refresh their drinks and have a walk around. Moving is the most effective way of reviving people at risk of dozing off.

7. Make it short

The most effective way of keeping your audience’s attention is not to go on for too long.

For more great points on keeping audience attention see Chris Atherton’s post When giving presentations, the only rule that matters is the rule is attention.

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24 Comments

Olivia, I especially like number seven on your list, and will attempt to keep this brief as a result!

If the list could extend to eight, I would add “Ask them a question”. A question can wake a whole room up, if delivered in the right way :

“We’ve increased profits by 10%, and reduced staff costs by 5%. What does this tell us about the way forward?” Then PAUSE for long enough to make people wonder if you are expecting an answer. Then continue with your answer. “It tells us the LEAN approach is working”

This semi-rhetorical question technique works a treat with small groups, and as a coach it’s easy to demonstrate by posing the question “How easy is it to wake up a group?”, and then eyeing the group in a way that suggests I might want an answer. Then follow it up with “Are you more alert now than you were a few seconds ago?”

Rhetorical questions are great, but need a pause to make them work on the consciousness of a group. Each individual will wake up as you look at them.

If you get a retort before thje end of the pause, that’s a bonus; then you are turning monologue into dialogue.

This is a great site, by the way!

Regards John Turner

Great addition to the list of audience alert mechanisms! Thank you – and thanks for your comments on my website, Olivia.

May I add numbers 9 and 10 and 11? 9. The number one rule of sales is to convince the prospective customer “What’s in it for me?” The presenter must also convince his audience there’s something in it for them. Use the “if-then” approach; for example: *If you do this, you’ll get more dates. *If you do this, your sales will increase. *Managers, if you do this, your morale/productivity, etc. will increase. *If employees don’t start busing their own tables, then we may have to close the company cafeteria. *Etc.

10. The presenter should communicate a sense of urgency or importance to the message. (If the subject is not urgent or important, why is everyone’s time being wasted with a presentation in the first place?). The danger is in the presenter’s sense of urgency/importance not being authentic or “real.”

11. Engage the audience in the presentation. Consider anecdotes about audience members (with prior permission), role-playing, brainstorming, questions-and-amswers, games, etc. For example, magicians like to call a member of the audience on stage for a trick — watch the audience perk up.

Thanks Jim for the excellent suggestions, Olivia.

Great post, as usual.

I would amend your first rule slightly: “Talk about something your audience AND YOU are interested in.”

Nothing bores and disengages me faster than speakers who themselves seem bored and disengaged. The trick is to find why and how my audience might be interested in something that interests me.

Excellent point, Chris. I know that this can be a challenge for some people.

For those of you who’ve lost the passion or interest in the topic you have to present on, do try and rekindle your passion. What got you into the issue to being with?

If you never had any interest in it, or simply can’t rekindle any passion, try and find passion in explaining this “boring” topic in the most engaging way. There’s a great post by Geni Whitehouse (@evenanerd on Twitter) on how to do this http://www.evenanerd.com/1/post/2009/11/the-presentation-that-almost-made-a-liar-out-of-me.html . Geni has also written a free eBook called “How to make a boring subject interesting”. I haven’t read it yet but it looks like it’s packed with ideas.

I just now started following your blog. Thanks for the tips with this post. The macro-micro changes suggestions were particularly helpful.

Going through your speech and marking when you are making changes and telling stories ensures the best flow possible.

Welcome Mark – and thank you for adding your contribution.

hi what we do on this app

The best way to keep your audiences attention is to be interesting. have a relevant story – does not have to be over the top, just relevant. Tell it from the heart.

Share a little of yourself and make yourself vulnerable. Don;t tell me how many kids you have or what you did on the weekend, tell me how you used to stuff your presentations up and what you learned. Be vulnerable and your audience will take you of the pedestal they have put you on (simply because you are standing in the front of the room) and they will start being interested in you. Then you have their attention.

darren Fleming Australia’s Corporate Speech Coach

Thanks for stopping by and offering your insights, Olivia.

All good points…thanks for sharing…

Hi Olivia Some great ideas there. Most powerful has to be “what’s in it for me?” Give the audience a reason for listening, add some vocal variety and movement and plenty of humour.

Let them know that you want them to have a good time…. and perhaps they will!

It’s always a two way thing, the topic should always be what you and your audience are interested in.

Great post.

Thanks for the heads up…Particularly agree with point 7…Trying to keep it short but ensuring nothing is left out as concentration of an individual can last for 10minutes if not shorter…

this is wonderful especially number seven. A brief and to the point presentation works miracles!

This posting sure has some legs to it since it started 3 1/2 years ago. One item of note that I will add is if the speaker is trying to “sell” something to which the audience is anticipated to “buy” at the end of the presentation, the speaker should incorporate a digital clock into their presentation that counts backwards the time limit of his/her presentation. This clock will then create a visual clue for the audience to pay attention, especially if the speaker says something like this at the beginning of his/her presentation, “…at approximately 3 minutes left in my presentation, I will divulge a secret way for you to grow your business exponentially.” I’ve seen this idea performed to perfection several times now and each time I have walked away smarter than the average businessperson.

In every speech, use the 3-step-rule: (1.) Tell ’em what you’re gonna tell ’em. (2.) Tell ’em. (3.) Tell ’em what you’ve just told ’em.

Storytelling is a wonderful attention-“catcher” when it is done right.

During my years of school-teaching, I engaged the students by explaining How-things-really-were in Europe during WW2; beyond the lessons they were being fed by the system. My family still lives nearby the house where famed author, Anne Frank was imprisoned during that catastrophe.

A bit of humor always works for me. Thanks for the ideas!

Is there any recent research that tracks audience interest by slides that would validate these recommendations – all of which I totally agree with?

Good work. Any one reading can please text me on. [email protected]

understanding the background of one’s audience is very critical at drawing their attention. One could be well prepared by can be appreciated by just a few who are interested in the subject matter since the majority’s interest could not be observed while listening.

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• When giving presentations, the only rule that matters is the rule of attention « Finite Attention Span - [...] 2: Olivia Mitchell has written a great post about seven ways to keep your audience’s attention. We’re all about…
• 19-Nov-2009 | MohanArun.com - [...] 7 ways to keep audience attention during your presentation – Link. [...]
• Public Speaking Tips [2009-11-21] - [...] Mitchell lists 7 ways to keep audience [...]
• Weekly links (weekly) | Frontiering Talk - [...] 7 ways to keep audience attention during your presentation : Speaking about Presenting [...]
• Presentation tips for a texting audience | Speaking about Presenting: Presentation Tips from Olivia Mitchell - [...] Strip the generation language from this question and this is a question about attention. [...]
• Presentation Handouts - [...] stop listening and start leafing through it. The problem here is not the handout, it’s that your presentation is…
• Overview presentations: 6 reasons why you shouldn't give one - [...] If there’s a mix of knowledge levels in your audience, you’ll bore anyone who’s beyond beginner status and possibly…
• General Education | 7 ways to Keep Audience Attention During Your Presentation « - [...] A one-way presentation is one of the worst possible ways of transferring information from person to person. It requires…
• B2B Presentations | capitalconcerns - [...] lot of animations or other artwork. It makes the whole thing look painfully unprofessional and can distract from the…
• Business Presentation Tip – Bookending for Power and Impact - [...] It’s an elegant business presentation tip that can pay big dividends in terms of audience response. [...]
• Future aspects of multitasking – Presentation 2 | SPAM 2 - [...] is very important. There are different ways to keep the audience focused on the presentation. Olivia Mitchell in her…
• How people best learn | Simple. Church. - [...] book Brain Rules which talks about how our brains are wired, and, as such, how people learn best. Here’s…
• Post to HIST 390 (weekly) | HIST 390-001 The Digital Past - [...] “7 Ways To Keep Audience Attention During Your Presentation” [...]
• » 6 Presentation/Public Speaking Blogs for Any Communicator (Updated) Inbound marketing & presentation skills made easy… - […] She seems to have somewhat of a more formulaic approach in that she talks about mind mapping, average attention spans and even…
• My Plan – Cool, Calm, and Collected - […] https://speakingaboutpresenting.com/content/7-ways-audience-attention-presentation/ […]

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4 Tips to Meet Your Audience’s Expectations

As a speaker, your goal should be to captivate and entertain your audience. Whether speaking at a professional  conference or delivering a lecture in the classroom, it is essential to remember that audiences have certain expectations when they come to listen to you speak. They want you to provide information that is both interesting and useful. They also expect you to be engaging and entertaining. Here are four tips for ensuring you deliver an effective presentation that meets the expectations of your audience.

Tip #1:  Prepare a Presentation that is Relevant and Engaging

Your audience will appreciate it if you create a presentation that is both relevant to the topic at hand and engaging. This means selecting topics or stories that are interesting, informative, and easy for your audience to understand. When creating slides for your presentation, be sure to include visuals such as charts. If you’re using a lectern, it’s also important to incorporate some hand gestures and body language into your delivery.

Tip #2: Speak with Confidence and Clarity

It is important to project confidence when speaking in front of an audience. This means speaking clearly and using a strong, confident  tone . Avoid mumbling or talking too fast as this can be distracting for the audience. It’s also important to maintain good posture while lecturing – stand up straight behind the lectern, make eye contact with members of the audience, and avoid distracting body movements.

Tip #3: Respond to Feedback

Throughout your presentation, it’s important to be aware of the reactions and feedback from your audience. Be prepared to answer questions or respond to comments as they come up. It is also a good idea to provide an opportunity for audience members to ask questions after you have finished speaking. This will allow them the chance to digest all of the information that you have shared with them and provide valuable feedback.

Tip #4: Lectern Etiquette

When giving a speech from a  lectern or podium , it’s crucial to remember that your presence and attitude can also influence the audience. Make sure you are aware of how close you are to the lectern as well as any movements you make while speaking. It is best practice to stand at least one arm’s length away from the lectern and to lean forward occasionally when speaking. This helps to keep the audience engaged and also allows for better projection of your voice.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your presentation meets the expectations of your audience and leaves them feeling satisfied with what they have heard. With practice, confidence, and a well-prepared presentation, you will be able to deliver an engaging speech that captivates and entertains any audience.

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How to be clear on your audience expectations

Nov 25, 2017 by maurice decastro in presentation skills.

How clear are you on your audience expectaions?

A presentation, meeting or training course that doesn’t meet audience expectations can be a very disheartening experience.

We live in an extremely fast paced and busy world where most of us are overwhelmed with information .

When we give up some of our extremely valuable time to listen to someone share their ideas, we need to be absolutely certain that they will respect it. If you promise one thing but deliver something else, you will quickly lose peoples attention, trust and regard.

When audience expectations aren’t met it leads to disappointment and frustration

How many presentations have you attended where the speaker told you how much they know, have achieved and how great their company is but didn’t tell you how they can help you?

Perhaps you’ve been to one of those presentations which could have been given in at least half the time, or communicated just as effectively in an email.

Maybe you expected to learn something new in a presentation, only to sit patiently for 20 minutes hearing what you already knew or could easily have worked out for yourself.

How do you do meet audience expectations?

1 . be clear.

If you’re going to get them to do an exercise then tell them in advance and be sure to tell them exactly why.

Don’t leave it for them to work it out or simply tell them that’s what you always do. Ask yourself why you are really doing it and what tangible difference it will make to them.

If you can’t come up with a really good answer then leave it out.

2. Don’t make them guess

Demonstrate how much you value their time by letting them know the rationale behind what you are sharing. Share its personal significance  and benefits to them.

Don’t make them guess or leave the room without a clue.

Just because you know, it doesn’t mean they can read your mind. If we set audience expectations well in advance we avoid the risk of them leaving the room feeling let down.

3. Know them

Find out as much as you possibly can about who they are and what help they need before you present to them.

Find out how they like to be presented to or prefer to learn. Don’t make assumptions.

4. Speak to them

Don’t just ask them what challenges they have.

Let them know up front why you believe your content, material, message and approach will help them. If it’s at all possible, try to speak with them before you begin crafting your presentation.

5. Do your homework

Just because you’ve been saying or doing the same thing for years, don’t assume that it works for everyone.

We are all different; do your homework and establish in advance whether what you have to offer will be of value to your audience. If you believe it won’t then be honest and tell them. Whilst we don’t like turning business away we have declined to work with some clients over the years because we don’t believe we can help them.

6. Craft  a conversation

If someone challenges you or asks a question, don’t just tell them that’s the way it is and ask them to simply accept it. Open up a meaningful conversation.

7. Keep your promise

Give them what they’ve asked for and what you’ve promised.

Don’t pad  your presentation out.

If you promise to help them feel more confident whilst presentin then give them the tools to do so.

If you need help managing audience expectations:

– Book yourself onto a powerful  public speaking course .

– Invest in some really good one to one  public speaking coaching .

– Get yourself some excellent  presentation training

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Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

Powerful and Effective Presentation Skills: More in Demand Now Than Ever

When we talk with our L&D colleagues from around the globe, we often hear that presentation skills training is one of the top opportunities they’re looking to provide their learners. And this holds true whether their learners are individual contributors, people managers, or senior leaders. This is not surprising.

Effective communications skills are a powerful career activator, and most of us are called upon to communicate in some type of formal presentation mode at some point along the way.

For instance, you might be asked to brief management on market research results, walk your team through a new process, lay out the new budget, or explain a new product to a client or prospect. Or you may want to build support for a new idea, bring a new employee into the fold, or even just present your achievements to your manager during your performance review.

And now, with so many employees working from home or in hybrid mode, and business travel in decline, there’s a growing need to find new ways to make effective presentations when the audience may be fully virtual or a combination of in person and remote attendees.

Whether you’re making a standup presentation to a large live audience, or a sit-down one-on-one, whether you’re delivering your presentation face to face or virtually, solid presentation skills matter.

Even the most seasoned and accomplished presenters may need to fine-tune or update their skills. Expectations have changed over the last decade or so. Yesterday’s PowerPoint which primarily relied on bulleted points, broken up by the occasional clip-art image, won’t cut it with today’s audience.

The digital revolution has revolutionized the way people want to receive information. People expect presentations that are more visually interesting. They expect to see data, metrics that support assertions. And now, with so many previously in-person meetings occurring virtually, there’s an entirely new level of technical preparedness required.

The leadership development tools and the individual learning opportunities you’re providing should include presentation skills training that covers both the evergreen fundamentals and the up-to-date capabilities that can make or break a presentation.

So, just what should be included in solid presentation skills training? Here’s what I think.

The fundamentals will always apply When it comes to making a powerful and effective presentation, the fundamentals will always apply. You need to understand your objective. Is it strictly to convey information, so that your audience’s knowledge is increased? Is it to persuade your audience to take some action? Is it to convince people to support your idea? Once you understand what your objective is, you need to define your central message. There may be a lot of things you want to share with your audience during your presentation, but find – and stick with – the core, the most important point you want them to walk away with. And make sure that your message is clear and compelling.

You also need to tailor your presentation to your audience. Who are they and what might they be expecting? Say you’re giving a product pitch to a client. A technical team may be interested in a lot of nitty-gritty product detail. The business side will no doubt be more interested in what returns they can expect on their investment.

Another consideration is the setting: is this a formal presentation to a large audience with questions reserved for the end, or a presentation in a smaller setting where there’s the possibility for conversation throughout? Is your presentation virtual or in-person? To be delivered individually or as a group? What time of the day will you be speaking? Will there be others speaking before you and might that impact how your message will be received?

Once these fundamentals are established, you’re in building mode. What are the specific points you want to share that will help you best meet your objective and get across your core message? Now figure out how to convey those points in the clearest, most straightforward, and succinct way. This doesn’t mean that your presentation has to be a series of clipped bullet points. No one wants to sit through a presentation in which the presenter reads through what’s on the slide. You can get your points across using stories, fact, diagrams, videos, props, and other types of media.

Visual design matters While you don’t want to clutter up your presentation with too many visual elements that don’t serve your objective and can be distracting, using a variety of visual formats to convey your core message will make your presentation more memorable than slides filled with text. A couple of tips: avoid images that are cliched and overdone. Be careful not to mix up too many different types of images. If you’re using photos, stick with photos. If you’re using drawn images, keep the style consistent. When data are presented, stay consistent with colors and fonts from one type of chart to the next. Keep things clear and simple, using data to support key points without overwhelming your audience with too much information. And don’t assume that your audience is composed of statisticians (unless, of course, it is).

When presenting qualitative data, brief videos provide a way to engage your audience and create emotional connection and impact. Word clouds are another way to get qualitative data across.

Practice makes perfect You’ve pulled together a perfect presentation. But it likely won’t be perfect unless it’s well delivered. So don’t forget to practice your presentation ahead of time. Pro tip: record yourself as you practice out loud. This will force you to think through what you’re going to say for each element of your presentation. And watching your recording will help you identify your mistakes—such as fidgeting, using too many fillers (such as “umm,” or “like”), or speaking too fast.

A key element of your preparation should involve anticipating any technical difficulties. If you’ve embedded videos, make sure they work. If you’re presenting virtually, make sure that the lighting is good, and that your speaker and camera are working. Whether presenting in person or virtually, get there early enough to work out any technical glitches before your presentation is scheduled to begin. Few things are a bigger audience turn-off than sitting there watching the presenter struggle with the delivery mechanisms!

Finally, be kind to yourself. Despite thorough preparation and practice, sometimes, things go wrong, and you need to recover in the moment, adapt, and carry on. It’s unlikely that you’ll have caused any lasting damage and the important thing is to learn from your experience, so your next presentation is stronger.

How are you providing presentation skills training for your learners?

Manika Gandhi is Senior Learning Design Manager at Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning. Email her at [email protected] .

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Presentation Training Institute

A division of bold new directions training, know what your audience expects from you.

Let’s be honest…no one goes to a presentation just for fun. Audience members attend presentations with certain expectations. Their time is valuable, and they want to feel like the presentation is worth their while. Therefore, as presenters spend time carefully selecting their material, they need to spend an equal amount of time ensuring the presentation meets the needs of the audience. Here are a few things that audience members expect from a presenter.

Someone Who is Relatable

Audience members want a presenter who understands them- someone who has insight into their beliefs and opinions. They want to feel like the presenter is on their level and speaking to them as a friend.  When the audience can relate to the presenter, they are much more likely to feel engaged and the information will truly resonate with them.

To Be Informed

Audience members are attending the presentation for one main purpose- to be informed. Your first duty as a presenter should be to convey information clearly, concise, and easy to understand. You want your audience to leave the presentation feeling like they are taking a new wealth of knowledge with them.

To be Engaged

Most people assume that the presenter will be boring. That’s why audiences are hopeful that the speaker will captivate their attention through interesting content, humor, storytelling, and audience engagement. Even the most mundane topics become interesting when the speaker knows how to engage the audience.

To Be Inspired

The best presentations are the ones that leave the audience feeling inspired. This is often overlooked because the topic doesn’t feel quite legitimate but every speaker should inject meaning into their presentation, so they make a deeper impact on the audience. It’s not enough to simply spout out information. Audiences want to leave a presentation feeling motivated and empowered.  

To Get to the Point

Audiences don’t have time to sit and listen to drawn out presentations.  After all, many of them are giving up their time to be there so they want the presentation to get right to the point. While it’s certainly important to introduce yourself and your topic, it is also important to be mindful of the audience’s time and cut right to the chase as soon as possible.

The Opportunity to Ask Questions

A presentation is a chance for audience members to hear information directly from the source.  During this precious “face time” they want to be able to ask questions and get clarification if needed without having to rely on email correspondence. Therefore, the presenter needs to set aside time for questions after the presentation. It is also important to provide a handout or some other form of communication so the audience members can refer to it.